Wikipedia defines an autonomous vehicle as an uncrewed vehicle, a driverless vehicle, a self-driving vehicle, or a robotic vehicle. Other terms include cyber vehicle or pod. These terms can be used interchangeably and generally mean that the autonomous vehicle is capable of fulfilling the main capabilities of a driver operated vehicle, at least for the task(s) that autonomous operation covers. For example, it can be allowable for a car to be driven autonomously on a motorway but not in certain other roads such as local roads or town streets. An autonomous vehicle is capable of sensing its environment and navigating without human input using techniques such as radar, lidar, ultrasonic, sonar, GPS, and computer vision. Advanced vehicle control systems interpret sensory information to identify appropriate navigation paths, as well as obstacles and relevant signage. Information on the background and use of autonomous vehicles can be found in ‘Autonomous Vehicle Technology—A Guide for Policymakers’ available from www.rand.org.
An area of autonomous vehicle use that is of concern in this document is the reactions of human beings to autonomous vehicles. In a first category the reactions can involve extreme emotions. Other road users can feel fear or alarm when being approached by a driverless vehicle, or, occupants of an autonomously driven vehicle can feel fear or alarm in a perceived near-collision event. Both situations can invoke undesired and possibly dangerous reactions such as mistaken collision avoidance actions.
For example, a driver may alter his/her driving line around a corner taking dangerous evasive action when suddenly confronted with a vehicle that has no driver or where the driving seat is occupied by a person who is obviously not looking at the road ahead. In another example, the occupant of an autonomous vehicle may be sitting in the driving seat but not operating the vehicle when confronted with a perceived imminent collision. Human reaction in this latter case is to take control from the autonomous system even though the likely consequence is overall loss of vehicle control and a collision where continued autonomous operation would have avoided the collision.
The preceding were examples of extreme human reactions in the context of autonomous driving, but, there are other situations where human reactions to autonomous vehicles can have undesirable changes in behaviour. For example, drivers of other vehicles may alter their driving about autonomous vehicles such as by leaving more or less space on the road for an autonomous vehicle, or being afraid to make legal road manoeuvres until an autonomous vehicle has passed. The latter can cause unnecessary traffic congestion at road junctions. Furthermore, it is reasonable to assume that drivers will show less road courtesy to autonomously driven vehicles and this can have consequences that lower overall road safety.
In an example of undesirable behavioural change about autonomously driven vehicles other drivers may anticipate the response of an autonomous vehicle and drive aggressively to exploit this knowledge. For example, a driver from a side road may aggressively push into traffic secure in the knowledge that an approaching autonomous vehicle will stop to avoid a collision. In another example, a driver may enter a roundabout to cut-off an autonomous vehicle with right-of-way knowing that the autonomous vehicle will sense its presence, compute that a collision is imminent, and take evasive action. Pedestrians may intentionally cross in front of oncoming autonomous vehicles knowing that they will stop, or at traffic lights continue crossing when the lights have gone red. These reactions to autonomous driving will be disruptive to traffic flow, to other road users, and overall road safety.
A third category of possible human reaction to autonomously driven vehicles is anti-social driving behaviour or driving with near criminal intent. In an example of anti-social driving behaviour drivers may increase their driving speed about autonomous vehicles based on the anticipated (or imagined) safety response of autonomous vehicles. A driver may make an unsafe overtaking manoeuvre against an approaching autonomous vehicle knowing that the vehicle will automatically pull into the road side to avoid a collision if necessary. In an example of criminal intent, a driver may intentionally drive at an autonomous vehicle knowing that the vehicle must respond in a predictable way to avoid the collision.
An autonomous capable vehicle can also be the source of anti-social driver behaviour if it is equipped to take control from a driver in a dangerous situation. The driver may speed or make dangerous road manoeuvres secure in the knowledge that the vehicle's autonomous control system will take over to avoid a collision if necessary.
It is known that some road users alter their behaviour consciously or unconsciously depending on the size of their vehicle and their perceived vulnerability to other road users. Cyclists are among the most vulnerable road users and some drivers exploit this, especially in urban driving conditions. It would be surprising if some drivers didn't alter their behaviour about autonomously driven vehicles and this invention seeks to minimize undesirable reactions and behavioural changes.
The present invention minimizes the reaction some people can have to vehicles being driven autonomously. It provides a solution that minimizes peoples' reaction outside an autonomously driven vehicle and/or inside.